Lifeboat and launching tackle therefor



Aug. 12, 1941.

LIFEBOA-T'AND LAUNCHING T ACKL THEREFOR Filed Feb. l0, 1959 A 4sheets-sheet 1 l. R. FLEMI'NG E-rm. 2,252,343

Aug-12, 1941.

1.R.FLEM1NG ErAL 2,252,343 LIFEBOAT AND LAUNCHING TACKLE THEREFOR FiledFeb. 1o,l 1939- 4 sheets-sheet g Aug. 12, 1941. l. n. FLEMING l-:TAL

lLIFEBAT AND LAUNCHING TACKLE, THEREFOR '4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb'.1o,- 1939 Patented Aug. 12, 1941 GFFECE.

LIFEBOAT AND LAUNCHING TAOKLE THEREFOR Ivan Rupert Fleming andFrankElder vFleming,

Liverpool, England Application February l0,

In Great Britain February 18, 1938 i1 Claims.

This invention relates to .an improved lifeboat andlaunching tackletherefor.

According .to present practice a ships boat is generally ,lowered .byboat lowering gear of the kind comprising one or more falls of ropes bywhich the boat is suspended and lowered and which are looped through a.fall block detachably connected, as by a hook, to a fitting in the boatso that when the boat is water borne the fall block suspended on thelower end of the fall is `cast off.

The object of the invention is to provide a boat in which the fall blockforms a permanent fitting in the boat and is constructed so that thefall or falls can be cast oi the block instead cf .casting `the blocktogether with the falls olf the 'boat as in the known practicedescribed. This arrangement gives a very material advantage in that theaforesaid fall blocks are heavy and when the boat is cast off the heavyfall block is suspended vat about the head levelu of the passengers inthe boat and, due to relative motion between the boat and the fallblock, the block may strike the passengers and serious injury mayresult. By the arrangement according 'to the invention in which thefalls are cast o'i the block and the block remains in the boat the abovesource of danger is eliminated.

`Another object of the invention is to provide a fall block which formsa permanent part of the nttings of the boat and which is so constructedthat it can replace the present day lowering hooks mounted in the boatand on to which the present day fall blocks suspended from the falls arehooked. Thus the independent function of the hook andthe fall block arecombined in one fitting.

The invention will be further described by way of example with referenceto the accompanying drawings, whereon- Figure l is a side elevation of aships lifeboat `fitted with a fall block according to the presentinvention,

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the boat shown in AFigures l and 2 inthe stowed position in which itis nested in the cradle of the shipsdavits,

Figure 4 is an end elevation in detail of the fall block and mountingtherefor,

Figure 5 is a side elevation of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is an end elevation similar to Figure 4 but with the `fallblock tilted to permit the fall rope to be cast 01T.

Figure 57 is anend elevation `of a modified form Cil 1939, lSerial N0.`1255,76()

(Cl. 'Sl-2g) of fall-block constructed according to the invention, and

Figure 8 is a side in Figure '1.

The gear l0 at opposite ends of the boat for suspending the boat fromthe fall ropes during launching is of similar construction and thereforeit will only be necessary to describe the gear at one end of the boat,in detail.

elevation Vof the block shown The all block and its mounting Il)comprises astandard I2 by which the block is permanently secured in theboat, the lower part of `the standard being riveted to the keelson I3 asindicated at I4 vin Figure 1. The standard l2 is reduced at I5 toprovide a bearing I6 for a swivel block Il which is rotatably mounted onthe reduced part I5 of the standard and is held in position on thestandard by a collar IB. The swivel block is provided with laterallyextending trunnions i9 which support cross-head members 20 free to rockto a limited extent on said trunnions, the cross-head members beinglocated on either side of the swivel vblock 11. A bracket 2| is xedbetween the cross head members 20 at one side thereof, and is rigidlysecured to said cross head members by screws 22 as indicated in Figurel. A hook 23 is located between the cross head members at the oppositeside thereof and is fixed on a shaft 2li journalled in said members. The'fall block comprises a sheave 25 located between cheek plates 21 andmounted on a spindle 26 supported in bearings 23 and 29 on either sideof the cheek plates. The cheek plates have strengthening ribs 21u. Thebearing 2S is pivotally supported on the bracket 2l by means of a pivotpin '30 whilst the bearing 2% carries a pin 3l adapted to be engaged bythe hook 2?. The cheek plates 21 are secured to the bearings by screws32 as indicated in Figure "5, and the spindle 25 is retained in positionin the bearings 28 and 29 by nuts 33 on the ends of the spindle. Thehook 23 is in two parts 23a and 23D (see Figure 5) and each part isadapted to engage one end of the pin 3|. Side plates 34 are mounted onthe sides of the hook to prevent the nose portion 35 thereof engagingthe fall rope 3b when said rope is cast off the sheave 25. An eye 31 issecured to the fall block by means of lugs 38 which are connected to thebearing blocks 28 and 2li by pins 39 and lil respectively.

To disengage the pin 3l and the hook 23 so that the fall block can beopened into the position shown in Figure 6 to permit the fall rope 3B tobe cast off the sheave '25, a releasing gear is provided which comprisesarms 4I fixed on the spindle 24 carrying the hook 23. The arms 4I areconnected by pins 42 to links 43 which are coupled by pins 44 to amember 45 slidable vertically on the standard I2. The member 45 hasclaws 46 which engage an actuating member 41 which is also slidablevertically on the standard I2. The actuating member 41 is connected bylinks 48 to a bell crank lever 49 journalled in the boat. The bell cranklevers 49 of the launching gear at opposite ends of the boat areconnected by cables 50 and 5I to a common operating handle 52 the cablesbeing led through tubing 53 mounted on a longitudinal bulkhead 54 of theboat.

Normally, that is when the boat is stowed in the davit cradle on boardship, a horn 55 on the davit cradle projects through the eye 31 so as torelieve the fall rope of the weight of the boat. When it is desired tolaunch the boat, the boat is slung out-board by the davts in the usualmanner and is lowered by the fall ropes until it is water borne.Immediately the boat is Water borne, the handle 52 can be pulled so thatthe bell crank levers 49 of the two sets of gear at opposite ends of theboat raise the actuating members 41 and the members 45 and therebythrough the links 43 move the hook 23 from engagement with the pin 3| sothat the hook moves into the position shown in Figure 6 and the fallblock is tilted about the pivot pin 30 so that the fall ropes are castoff the sheaves 25. Generally the falls will slip automatically off thesheaves and it will be appreciated that the fall block can tilt to agreater extent than that shown in Figure 6 by rocking the cross-headmembers about the trunnions I9. This movement of the cross-head membersabout the trunnions also enables the fall block to cant to whatever linethe falls may take up as the boat is being lowered. Furthermore theswivel connection of the fall block to the standard I2 by means of theswivel block I1 enables any twists in the fall ropes to be readilyunravelled. It is deslrable to be able to unravel any twists in the fallropes when a waterborne boat has to be raised to its stowed position ondeck. For this operation the loops of the fall ropes are re-engaged inthe sheaves of the blocks and the latter closed. A preliminarytensioning is applied to the fall ropes and they are unravelled byrotation of the fall block about a vertical axis so that the fall ropesrun freely through the blocks.

It will be appreciated that the connection of the bell crank 49 and thelinks V48 to the member 45 by means of the claws 4B permits the member45 and thereby the cross-head members 2 to swivel freely about thestandard I2. Furthermore, in the engaged position of the hook 23 the pin42 is substantially coaxial with the trunnions I9 so that the cross-headmembers 20 can rock on said trunnions without any tendency to disengagethe hook 23.

A stop 55 is provided on the bracket 2| to limit the tilting movement ofthe fall block and abutments 56 may be provided on the standard I2 tolimit the canting movement of the crosshead members about the trunnionsI 9. A detent 51 is pivotally connected to one of the cross-head members29 on a pin 58 and when the detent is swung into the position shown inFigure 5 it engages the rear face of the hook 23 to prevent releasethereof. Extension pieces 59 are provided on ,the lower part of the lefthand cheek 21 of the fall block as shown in Figure 4. These extensionpieces prevent the fall rope becoming entangled with the underface 60 ofthe cheek plate.

In the modication shown in Figures 7 and 8 each fall block for attachingthe fall ropes to the forward and after ends of the boat comprises astandard 6I adapted to be secured to the bottom of the boat, forexample, in a similar manner to the standard I2 described with referenceto Figures l and 2. Cheek plates 62 and 63 are bolted to the upper partof the standard by bolts 64 and the cheek plate 63 is provided with ahinged part 65 which is hinged to the part 63 as indicated at `56. Thehinged part 65 is provided with a stub axle 61 on which is journalled asheave 58. A lug 69 is secured to the hinged part 65 and normallyprojects through an aperture 1U in the side plates 62 and a pin 1I isinserted in a hole in the lug 69 so as to prevent the disengagementthereof from the side plate 62 whereby the sheave 61 is maintained inalignment with the fall rope 36. When the boat being launched iswaterborne the pins 1I of the launching gear at oppon site ends of theboat are removed so that the hinged parts 65 pivot about their hinges toopen the blocks and tilt the sheaves 68 whereby the fall ropes are castoff said sheaves. It will be porting the boat from a davit when the boatis stowed therein.

a vertical axis.

5. In combination a boat and launching tackle therefor comprising a fallblock having a sheave for the loop of a fall rope, openable meansnormally closing the block to maintain the fall rope within the block,and a cantable permanent connection between the -fall block and theboat,

whereby the block can cant about a horizontal axis.

6. In combination a boat and launching tackle therefor comprising a fallblock having a sheave for the loop of a fall rope, a standardpermanently mounted in the boat, a hinged connection between the saidstandard and the said fall block whereby the block can be tilted to castoff the loop of a fall rope, and means for maintaining the fall rope inalignment with the fall block during launching of the boat.

7. In combination a boat and launching tackle therefor comprising a fallblock having cheek plates, one of which is movable to open the block forcasting off the loop of a fall rope and a sheave for the loop of thefall rope rotatably mounted between the cheek plates, means formaintaining the cheek plates closed around the sheave to keep the fallrope in alignment with the sheave during lowering of the boat and apermanent connection between the fall block and the boat whereby thefall block is retained in the boat after the fall rope has been castoff.

8. In combination a boat and launching tackle therefor comprising a fallblock having cheek plates one of which is movable to open the block forcasting ofi the loop of a fall rope, a sheave for the loop of the fallrope, located between the cheek plates and rotatably mounted on themovable cheek plate, means for maintaining the cheek plates closed tomaintain the sheave in alignment with the fall rope during lowering ofthe boat and a permanent connection between the fall block and the boatwhereby the block remains in the boat after the fall rope has been castoi.

9. In combination a boat and launching tackle therefor comprising a fallblock having a sheave on to and off which the loop of the all rope canbe slipped, a bracket permanently secured to the boat, a hingedconnection between the fall block and the bracket to permit the fallblock to tilt about a horizontal axis out of alignment with the fallrope to cast said fall rope off the sheave, a hook adapted to engage apart of the fall block to prevent tilting thereof and maintain thesheave in alignment with the fall rope and a hinged connection betweensaid hook and the bracket.

10. In combination a boat and launching tackle therefor comprising twofall blocks, one at each end of the boat, each fall block having asheave onto and off which the loop of a fall rope can be slipped, twobrackets, one for each fall block permanently secured one at each end ofthe boat, a hinged connection between each fall block and its bracket topermit the fall block to tilt about a horizontal axis out of alignmentwith the fall rope, to cast the loop of the fall rope off the sheave,two hooks, one hinged to each bracket and adapted to engage a part ofthe fall block connected thereto to prevent tilting of said block andmaintain the sheave of the fall block in alignment with the fall rope, areleasing mechanism and an operative connection between each hook andsaid releasing mechanism, said releasing mechanism having a commonoperating member for disengaging the hooks from the respective fallblocks when the fall ropes are to be cast ofi.

Il. The combination claimed in claim 9 and further comprising two detentdevices, one located in the path of travel of each hinged hook toprevent the disengagement of the hook from its block except when thedetent is first released.

IVAN RUPERT FLEMING. FRANK ELDER FLEMING.

